Proverbs 26

The fool and the sluggard

Honor is no more associated with fools than snow with summer or rain with harvest. ²Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.a ³Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle, and a fool with a rod to his back!

⁴Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are. ⁵Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation. ⁶Trusting a fool to convey a message is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison!

⁷A proverb in the mouth of a fool is as useless as a paralyzed leg. ⁸Honoring a fool is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot. ⁹A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.

¹⁰An employer who hires a fool or a bystander is like an archer who shoots at random. ¹¹As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.b ¹²There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise.c

¹³The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!” ¹⁴As a door swings back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed. ¹⁵Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth.

¹⁶Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors. ¹⁷Interfering in someone else’s argument is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears.d ¹⁸Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon ¹⁹is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking.” ²⁰Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.

²¹A quarrelsome person starts fights as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood. ²²Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart. ²³Smooth words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a clay pot.

²⁴People may cover their hatred with pleasant words, but they’re deceiving you. ²⁵They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them. Their hearts are full of many evils.e ²⁶While their hatred may be concealed by trickery, their wrongdoing will be exposed in public.

²⁷If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead.f ²⁸A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattering words cause ruin.